OPENING BELL: US stocks waver in early trading on Wall Street

Tuesday

May 16, 2017 at 9:46 AMMay 16, 2017 at 9:46 AM

The Associated Press

U.S. stock indexes were little changed in early trading Tuesday, a day after the market closed at record highs. Investors were sizing up the latest crop of company earnings and new data on home construction and industrial production. Real estate and health care companies fell more than the rest of the market. Consumer goods makers rose. The price of oil edged higher.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 1 point, or 0.1 percent, to 2,403 as of 10:23 a.m. Eastern Time. The Dow Jones industrial average was little changed at 20,986. The Nasdaq composite index was up a fraction at 6,150. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit new highs on Monday.

SPRUCED UP: Home Depot topped expectations for profit and revenue in the first quarter. The home-improvement retailer also raised its profit outlook for the year. The stock gained $3.30, or 2.1 percent, to $160.63.

UNFASHIONABLE: The TJX Cos. fell 3.4 percent after the apparel and home fashions retailer's quarterly results fell short of Wall Street's forecasts. The stock lost $2365 to $74.25.

ECONOMIC DATA: The Commerce Department said residential construction fell for a second straight month in April, pushing activity to the lowest point in five months. Housing starts slid 2.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.17 million units. The weakness was led by a big drop in construction of apartments, a volatile sector. Separately, the Federal Reserve said that industrial production at U.S. factories, mines and utilities shot up 1 percent in April from March. That's the biggest gain since February 2014 and the third straight monthly gain. The increase was more than twice what economists had expected.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 7 cents to $48.93 a barrel. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 9 cents to $51.93 a barrel.

CURRENCIES: The dollar declined to 113.52 yen from Monday's 113.68 yen. The euro gained to $1.1068 from $1.0978.